Tony Rose’s ’68 looks pretty...
Tony Rose’s ’68 looks pretty sweet, but that’s at 20 paces! The closer we got, the more evident it was that the previous shop that took on the job of painting it failed to pay attention to the details that would have made the car spectacular.
•We’re all too familiar with the phrase “every picture tells a story.” Most of the time, you can look at an image and fondly recall a moment that captured an exceptional experience that you never want to forget. Sometimes though, a picture can tell a much different story—one of strife you’d much rather put behind you. Back in the February 2009 issue of Camaro Performers magazine, we introduced you to the Karma Camaro and its owner Tony Rose. Tony is your average hard-working guy who happened to invest six years of dedication into his ’68 Camaro. He dialed in every detail on his own through long nights working in his garage. Knowing how he wanted his car to look, he rode that rail with a vengeance, but he got to the point where he just needed to have the body freshened up before the final icing was laid. However, the pictures you saw in that issue told a totally different tale.
Stories of honest people getting taken to the cleaners from less-than-honorable business owners aren’t the norm in our [Camaro] world, but every so often it happens. When Tony contacted a shop to take on the final transformation of his car, he struck a deal that was designed to net him a car with a nice driver-quality paint job that would be done in a reasonable amount of time. What was promised and what the shop actually delivered was far less than what Tony had envisioned. Not only was the car delivered way late, but upon seeing the car for the first time, Tony realized his expectations of having a nice ride had been instantly thrashed. Unfortunately, six long months of anxious anticipation left Tony stranded on the boulevard of broken dreams with empty pockets.
Sloppy application of seam...
Sloppy application of seam sealer to the rear deck panel screams at you regardless of the dramatic blue vibe. This was also evident on the drip rails and taillight panel.
Being a moderator on the popular lateral-g.net message board, Tony shared his story with fellow members about his experience and how he was left in a lurch by a dishonest shop. In a time when it seems the world has become very uncaring, Tony’s story caught the attention of thousands of the lateral-g members, including Peter Newell of Competition Specialties in Walpole, Massachusetts. A longtime member of the lateral-g community, the hot rod shop owner was horrified when he read about Tony’s experience and immediately contacted him to offer some help. He told Tony that if he could get the Camaro to his shop, he would take care of completely redoing it. It’s just like Peter to step up and help a fellow car owner out of a bad situation. Well, once the lateral-g.net community heard of Peter’s generous offer, the members banded together with lateral-g owner Scott Gulbranson and set up a PayPal account on the web site designed to help finance the 3,000-mile transportation bill. But wait, it gets even better. Since many aftermarket auto-related businesses are regular participants and advertisers on the site, they also began offering up parts to help complete the job.
Hearing this story helps put a little faith back into society. The lateral-g community is a great place where so many caring individuals are willing to help someone they’ve never even had the pleasure of sharing a cup of coffee.
Instead of nice clean spatter...
Instead of nice clean spatter paint in the trunk, Tony’s car was subjected to a brush-on style bed liner substance which had already started to flake. With the urging of a putty knife, it came up in sheets.
A closer inspection of the...
A closer inspection of the bottom of each door proved poor surface prep and lack of attention to detail. You can already see where the corrosion was starting to creep in, and this is on a car that has not even experienced any outdoor elements.
Once Peter Newell of Competition...
Once Peter Newell of Competition Specialties pulled the trunk seal gasket back, he almost fainted! Not only was the area poorly prepped, it already had signs of corrosion, not to mention loads of sludge from wet sanding the body.